Hey, you guys.

Hope you're all okay.

So, I've been struggling with my writing for a few weeks now.
I just couldn't pull it off, which was frustrating, to say the least.
When I was, again, standing on the verge of throwing my laptop out of the window, I suddenly realized that writing a one-shot usually helps to get back on track.
And so I did.

Disclaimers
- I don't own the Biker Mice From Mars.
- Since English isn't my first language, there will be grammatical mistakes, my apologies in advance. Know that I'm doing the best I can.
- Constructive criticism is welcome, burning me to the ground, however, is not.
- It's a one-shot, I don't have any intention to write another chapter.
- Okay, but never say never. XD

I used the episode 'We Don't Need No Stinkin' City' for this one, but gave it my own twist.
And, as it is my usual style, it's a sad one.
Let's go!

A Hero's Failure

-We all fail sometimes. Even heroes.-

It appeared to be an average day in the city of Chicago, Illinois.
Everyone was just minding their own business, though huffing and puffing due to the immense heat of just another average summer.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Nothing, except perhaps for a trio of aliens chilling in an alley on their impressive-looking bikes, eating hotdogs as if they hadn't eaten in days, which wasn't the case.

They had breakfast only three hours ago, but being a badass Cave Mouse coming from Mars meant being cursed -or blessed, depends on who you ask- with a very high-rated metabolism.
They were enjoying their food in relative silence, which was unusual, to say the least, but talking with three hotdogs stuffed in your mouth was what one liked to call a challenge, even for these three.
So, apart from the non-stop smacking sounds and the occasional loud burp here and there, things were actually quite peaceful, there in that alley.

But then, Vinnie suddenly stopped chewing and while a frown appeared on his usual carefree face, he sat a bit more upright.
After swallowing his food -and almost choking in it while he was at it-, he raised his head and sniffed the air, an action which he immediately regretted and his confused frown turned into one of disgust.
"Ugh… What is that?"
Modo glanced at him before he too took a deep breath through the nose, which was already enough for him to lose his usual insatiable appetite and he wrinkled his nose in revulsion.
"I don't know, bro, but it stinks."
Throttle already threw his hotdog over his shoulder, just as Modo, he had lost his appetite the moment the vile scent had only so much tickled his nostrils.
"It smells like trouble."

The sound of two engines approaching confirmed that theory, and the mice watched silently how two buggies drove straight towards them as they prepared themself for a fight, both mentally and physically.
Which wasn't really unfounded, for as the two vehicles came closer and closer, they could now see it were two big and excessively fat Plutarkians that sat behind the wheel.
Soon, the two fish-looking creatures stopped right in front of the mice, but instead of looking frightful as they probably should be, they both had a smile as big as the Cheshire Cat etched on their faces.

"Biker Mice! We are Hacka…-", the biggest one of them exclaimed somewhat happily.
"-...and Honka…-", the smaller one continued, just as cheerful.
"-...The Loooooogie Brothers!", they both cheered in unison, without even looking at each other.
It was obvious that they had practiced this entrance to its perfection.
And by the looks of things, they weren't done yet either.

"And we want to tear you up!", Hacka smirked as he pointed a slimy finger at the mice.
Honka almost bounced out of his buggy in excitement, his immense amount of fat bouncing happily along with him.
"We are the scum of the universe!"
Hacka nodded wildly, now suddenly holding up a golden trophy with pride written upon his quite ugly face.
"Yeah, for three years running!"

Throttle shared a quick yet somewhat amused look with his beloved brothers in arms before his eyes darted back to the two enemies standing in front of them.
"Swell. You can keep the title, boys…"
"But nobody messes with our lunch…", Modo rumbled, leaning on his handlebars.
"Especially Plutarkian stinkfish like you", and Vinnie pointed at them with his fingers in the shape of a gun, a wry smile on his face.

Hacka revved his engine, not at all impressed by this display of textbook machismo.
"You'll have to catch us first, Biker Mice."
"Yah, and we are slippery… like a fish!", Honka oinked, obviously highly amused by his own pun and they both popped a wheelie and drove away.
"Time to rumble, bro's. Deep space mode", Throttle ordered, closing his visor while slightly shaking his head.

For some reason, these two new villains amused him, if only a little.
They weren't exactly the two brightest tools in the shed, now were they?
Challenging them like that, honestly…
They had no idea what they had gotten themselves into.
"Yeah, phew… Keep the stink out", Vinnie smiled relieved, the bluish visor of his helmet already closed and he revved his bike impatiently, all ready to fight.
"Let's ROCK…"
"... and RIDE!"
Yeah.
Just another day at the office.

Was it?

The Loogie Brothers flew through the streets of Chicago, followed closely by the mice.
Perhaps they didn't seem too smart at first impression, but it soon became clear that they did know how to wreak havoc in a city, scaring the poor citizens to death while they were at it.
"We need to stop this, pronto, otherwise Chicago bites the dust, bro's", Throttle mentioned, somewhat alarmed by seeing the destruction these guys managed to create in such a short time.

"I've got just the ticket", Vinnie grinned viciously, and he pushed a small button on his handlebar, but before he could actually fire the missile, Modo suddenly popped up next to him and used his tail to deactivate the dangerous weapon.
"No matter how tempting, we can't just blow them to smithereens, Vincenzo. There are innocent citizens in the way."
Vinnie's face darkened and he shrugged his shoulders a bit annoyed.
"Ah, man. Buzzkill."

But then, the Loogie Brothers suddenly split up, which was strange, actually, but just the thing they needed right now.
"Vinnie, you go after the fat one. Modo and I will handle his little brother", Throttle ordered, and so it happened.
"Rendez-vous at Michigan Avenue in two."
For a moment, it looked like their plan was going to work.
After a relatively short chase, the Loogie Brothers were now driving straight towards each other, hunted down mercilessly by the mice.
Unfortunately, the two fish were in reality not even near as dumb as they looked and when they saw what the mice were trying to do here, they hit the brakes just in time.

Due to the speed they had been driving with, the rear sides of their buggy came up, but they still managed to avoid a nasty crash.
"That was a close one", Hacka breathed, still smiling, although a bit sheepish now.
"This is closer", Throttle growled from behind him, aiming his gun at the two fish while his bro's did the same.
"Give it up, skunk boys", Vinnie said with a low voice, and he took off the safety of his gun with a loud click to strengthen his words.
Modo's laser cannon zoomed out of its hiding place, his eye flickering red, which gave him a somewhat ominous appearance.
"And don't even think about running."

It was then that, unbeknownst to the mice, things went horribly wrong.
Or well, that the first domino in line toppled over and fell.
Slowly though.
But it still fell.
And when one domino went, well…

The first domino happened to be none other than our beloved Charley, who now suddenly and completely out of nowhere popped up next to the Loogie Brothers, a confused look on her face and her clothes covered with mustard.
"What the hell happened, guys?", she asked, a bit dazed, rubbing her head with her usually sparkling green eyes slightly narrowed.
Vinnie's heart skipped a beat or two the moment he heard her voice and he looked up with a jerk, his ruby-red eyes wide open.
"Charley, what…"

But before he could ask her what on Mars she was doing here -or even blink for that matter-, Hacka decided to take advantage of the situation, or well, of the mice's distraction.
The fat Plutarkian revved his engine and drove towards her.
"We happened!", he cheered happily, and he grabbed Charley by the waist when he passed her.
"Yah, and you are a hostage", Honka gloated as he followed his brother, laughing loudly.
Charley let out a soft shriek in surprise, but that was to be all, for it all happened in the blink of an eye.
There was simply no time to react.
For none of them, and before they all knew it, the two fish already sped away, Hacka holding a struggling Charley.

Throttle, finally back to his senses, quickly lowered his gun as he gestured to his friends to do the same.
"Hold back, bro's. They got Charley."
"Geez, nothing gets by you, huh?", Vinnie muttered under his breath as he put the gun back in his leg holster, shaking his head with rolling eyes.
But Throttle merely ignored him and pointed at the two fish, who now fired their jets and flew up in the air.
"Let's follow them."
"Yeah, they gotta come down somewhere", Modo smiled evilly and with that, they started the pursuit.

Although the situation seemed rather pressing, the three Martians weren't really worried.
Mostly just angry, actually.
They were all three quite fond of Charley, one perhaps in different ways than the other, but still.
They all cared for her.
Deeply.
And messing with her meant messing with them.
It was as simple as that.

On the other hand, they were highly-trained Freedom Fighters.
Some might even call them soldiers, although they personally preferred the term rebels.
In any case, this was just all in a day's work.
They would get her back, all safe and sound.
As they always did.

Would they?

They followed the Loogie Brothers with their tires still safely on the ground, their extensive experience telling them that, no matter how strange that might sound, it was safer for Charley to wait until those two egg-heads decided to finally join them down here again.
But then, without warning, the second domino fell.
And, much to their utter shock, so did Charley.
"Charley is doing the asphalt dive!", Modo yelled urgently and he pointed at the small dot that was falling down from great height.
A small dot that was their friend, screaming her head off in fear.

"Vinnie! Fire off!", Throttle ordered, alarmed by this sudden turn of events.
It was for sure that he hadn't seen this coming, a thing he already cursed himself for.
He obviously underestimated these two newcomers, which was stupid, to say the least.
A classic mistake.
Vinnie clenched his teeth in determination as he tried to shut out Charley's screams, for they almost made his ears bleed, and he quickly flicked a switch that was hidden behind his right handlebar.
"BANG! I'm gone."

His bike roared loudly before it catapulted forward and after a quick glance at Charley, the white-furred mouse pulled back the handlebars and opened the throttle.
A huge flame came out of the back and after lifting the front tire, the bike flew straight up, leaving a cloud of smoke and a black burn mark on the asphalt behind.
Although his heartbeat had severely increased the moment he had seen Hacka letting go of Charley, Vinnie still wasn't as worried as he probably should be.
But come on.
This was standard hero work.
He could do this.

Could he?

It was at this moment that the third domino went down.
As he flew higher and higher, his beloved bike still roaring like a mighty lion, Vinnie took a quick glance at the radar.
"Whoa. Trajectory is off", he breathed, appalled by what he was currently looking at and for the first time today, or perhaps even for a very long time, a pang of fear made his heart heavy for a brief moment.
"Okay, change of plans. This better works, or Charley is street pizza…"

Using his weight and tail to steer his bike closer to Charley, he softly bit his tongue in concentration as he carefully counted the seconds, knowing like no other that timing was everything.
But the seconds, for some reason, felt like hours.
Which was strange, to say the least.
Or maybe it was just because patience wasn't really his strong suit.
It never had been.

Three…
Two…
One…

In one smooth movement, Vinnie jumped off his bike, keeping his red eyes fixed on his human friend, who was still falling down with dazzling speed.
His human friend, who he was secretly and hopelessly in love with.
Time to be her hero, once again.
Him saving her could only work in his favor, and a grin appeared on his face when he thought about all the ways she would be able to thank him.
Maybe she would even give him a kiss.
Yes, please.

His heart fluttered in his chest by the thought alone, and the grin transformed into a goofy smirk as he stretched out his arms, now so close to her that he could almost smell her extraordinary scent.
One that made his mouth water.
Flowers with a hint of grease…
And then, he missed.
Much to his horror, he missed.

A heavy gust of wind, one he hadn't factored in, blew her a few inches more to the right and now, all he held in his hands was air.
Nothingness.
"No!"
His tail lashed out, one last attempt to grab her, but again, he missed.
Barely though.
He could feel the tip slightly brushing her arm.
But he still missed.
It was nothing but a fact.

Falling further and further, Charley stretched out her hand to him, her delicate fingers spread wide open.
"Vinnie!"
Mortal fear twisted her usually pretty face in a gruesome mask, one Vinnie could barely look at without getting a heart attack.
Even her marvelous green eyes seemed darker.
Obscured by dread.
"Shit… Shit, shit, SHIT!", Vinnie cursed between gritted teeth, not quite sure how in the world he had managed to fuck this up in such a short matter of time.
Not really hero-like, now was it?
More like total idiocy.

But, although it cost him greatly, he miraculously managed to keep his head in the game.
He even came up with a plan B and he quickly whistled on his fingers for his bike.
"Throw a line, NOW!"
It was their only chance.
His voice faltered dangerously due to the same mortal fear that was written upon Charley's face, squeezing his throat quite mercilessly, but all that mattered was that the words came out, which they did.

As always, his beloved ride immediately obeyed and a rope shot out of the back.
Attached to it was a grappling hook that now followed Charley down.
When it reached her, it wrapped around her waist like a snake and secured itself.
Thank the Mothers of Mars for Martian technology.
He wasn't sure what he would have done without it.
His bike now reached him and Vinnie quickly climbed back in the saddle as the first sparks of relief now chased away the fear he had felt just now.
"Good job, sweetheart. You're one of a kind."

Now all that was left to do was haul the rope back in, with only a few seconds to spare though, but hey, what's new?
But just when he wanted to give his bike the order, the impressive machine beeped urgently, alarming him at the same time.
"What the…"
He quickly looked over his shoulder, only to see the other side of the rope, the one that was supposed to stay attached to his bike, fly away.
It just flew away, flapping in the wind.
"Are you kidding me?!", Vinnie spat angrily, and he couldn't stop himself from concluding that the universe was clearly working against him here.
He had no idea why, but it just did and it annoyed him beyond words.

Without even thinking, he threw his weight back and after a flawless backward somersault, he dove down after the rope.
Clenching his teeth, he stretched out his hand while his heart performed a few cartwheels when he saw how close to the ground Charley now was.
He usually never backed down from a challenge, but this was getting ridiculous, even for him.
The sparks of relief already gone with the wind, it was now despair that drove him and his tail lashed through the air.
"Come on… Come on!"
It was such a small movement, but it gave him just the tiny boost he needed and finally… finally, his fingers enclosed the rope.
"Gotcha!"
Great.
But who's got you?

As he wrapped the rope around his hand for a better grip, his red eyes spotted a streetlight and he braced himself as he reached out to it.
Much to his relief, he managed to grab the metal pole without too much trouble.
At just the right moment, too.
Right before Charley hit the ground, the rope tightened with a loud crack.
Her weight gave a firm thug on the rope, and therefore on his muscles, but he still held onto the pole -and the rope- as if his life depended on it.
Or well, Charley's life.
Which it did.
Obviously.

A sharp pain shot through his arms, all the way up to his shoulders and neck, and a groan forced its way out through his gritted teeth as he closed his eyes for a moment.
But he didn't let go.
He didn't fall.
Neither did Charley.
What did fall, faster than its predecessors, was the fourth domino.

For a moment, there was only silence.
Sweet and peaceful silence, the sound of the wind howling around his helmet now replaced by his own heavy breathing and the rushing of blood in his ears.
After opening his eyes, Vinnie looked down.
Charley hung only inches above the ground, the back of her hands and her heels mildly grazing the pavement and a smile curled his lips when he realized that he, once again, had saved the day.
Am I good or what?
In his humble opinion, he had really outdone himself this time and he meant that in a good way.

Carefully, he lowered her and his beloved human friend landed softly on her back.
After letting go of the rope, he slid down the pole like a firefighter responding to a distress call before landing somewhat wobbly on his feet.
"Holy shit, that was a close one. One hell of a rush, but too damn close", he breathed while pulling off his helmet, his hands now shaking uncontrollably due to the major stress relief that was set in motion the moment his feet touched the ground.
At first, being overwhelmed with adrenaline as he was, he didn't really notice that the silence, the one that had been peaceful only moments ago, had become somewhat ominous.

But he really was in desperate need of a moment to at least try to wrap his mind around the recent events and he rubbed his heated face as he kept shaking his head in disbelief.
"I cannot believe all of that just happened, holy-fuck-a-moly, I almost shit my pants just now. How about you, sweetheart? Your pants still clean?"
It took him a few seconds, but then, Vinnie finally became fully aware of his surroundings again and he now realized that it was awfully quiet here in this little park downtown.
A frown appeared on his face and he peeked through his fingers at Charley.
"Charley?"

Much to his utter surprise, she hadn't moved.
Not even an inch.
She was still lying there, entirely motionless.
That can't be good.
Gradually, Vinnie inhaled through the nose before he lowered his hands, his red eyes fixed on the unmoving life-form lying close to his feet.
"Charley? Are you… Are you okay?"
The stillness that still lingered in the air like a smokescreen became even more pressing.
Suffocating, even.
It made his legs even more wobbly than they already were.
Never had he known that silence, just plain silence, could be so terrifying.

As in slow motion, he crouched down next to the woman who had a very special place in his heart, his legs shaking in effort to make sure he wouldn't collapse, right here, right now.
"C-Charley?"
He couldn't see her face.
Her beautiful auburn-colored hair covered it like a blanket.
All he could see was the tip of her nose.
That cute little nose of hers.
How many times had he playfully pinched it, asking her how on Mars she could smell with something that small?
He suddenly couldn't remember.

What he also couldn't, he now found out, was raise his arms.
Such a simple movement, one would say, but it felt like they were shackled to the ground, the bounds as heavy as lead.
Although it truly pained him to admit it, even to himself, he knew that was because he was scared.
Scared of what was hidden underneath that shining layer of hair.
Perhaps it should stay there.
Hidden.
Unidentified.
But at the same time, he knew that wasn't even an option.

After taking a deep but shaky breath, he flexed his sore muscles and eventually, he managed to lift his right hand.
It was crazy how much strength it cost him, but he succeeded, a fact that made him proud of himself, if only a little.
Right before his furry fingers made contact with her hair, her soft and sweet-smelling hair, he stopped.
He just froze, completely out of the blue.
And he couldn't help himself but wonder why that was.
Was it to prepare himself for what he was about to see?
Ha, right.
As if that was even possible.

A strange squeaking sound tried to make it out of his mouth, but it stagnated somewhere halfway through his throat and he suddenly got overwhelmed by the very strong urge to run away.
To just run away and never look back.
But that didn't exactly fit with his mucho macho hero status, now did it?
Even more so, she counted on him.
She always did.
He couldn't just leave her here.
She might even need help.

For fuck sake, stop being such a wuss and get your shit together.
And so he did.
For her.
After all, there was nothing he wouldn't do for her.
Charley…
His sweet and feisty Charley-girl.

Burying his teeth in his lower lip, for he somehow needed the pain to stay sharp, he lowered his hand and gently brushed the hair out of her face.
Empty green eyes were all that looked back at him.
The sight of it literally took his breath away, and for a brief moment, all he could do was stare at her while his heart pounded so hard and irregular against the inside of his chest that it almost hurt.
Correction — it did hurt.
Like hell.

"No… No, sweetheart, come on… You're fine, right? You're fine", he breathed in shock, his brain simply unable to process what he was looking at.
This couldn't be real.
If it was…
No, it wasn't.
His legs suddenly couldn't hold his weight anymore and he dropped down on his knees, barely even feeling the mean and sharp pain caused by a small pebble pricking his flesh, straight through his black pants and white fur.
Again, he reached out to her and almost excessively careful, he took her head in his fingerless gloved hands.
With his thumbs resting on her cheeks, his ruby-red eyes wandered over her face, desperately searching for a sign of life.
But when his fingers reached the back of her head, he suddenly felt something wet.
Something sticky, too.

The lump that had formed in his throat the moment he revealed those eerie empty eyes became even larger and he swallowed in an attempt to get rid of it.
And again.
And again.
But it didn't work.
Slowly, he pulled back his right hand.
His shaking right hand.
His shaking right hand — that was now covered in blood.
Coloring the millions of teeny-tiny white hairs on his fingers deep red.
No…
How was this even possible?

His eyes darted back to her face.
Her pale face.
Gone were the rosy cheeks.
She must have hit her head when the rope tightened.
It had to be.
An invisible band strapped around his torso, swiftly and without mercy and his breathing accelerated, but he then wildly shook his head in denial, his big ears flapping along.

"No. You're okay… You're all okay", he mumbled and after leaning forward, he wrapped his brawny arms around her fragile body.
"You're okay…"
With one hand supporting her head and his fingers weaved into her messy and bloody hair, he pressed her against his chest.
Every movement was executed with utmost precision, something that didn't fit him, at all.
But he needed to stay in control.
He needed to do everything within his power to stop the crippling anguish from entering his body.

Slowly, he rested his chin on her head, trying very hard to stay calm, but it was hard.
There was a whirlwind of emotions raging inside of him, fighting to get out and an unnatural sound slipped past his lips.
One that was a combination of a sob, a sigh, and a chuckle and he tightened his grip around her in some feeble attempt to stay in control, for it felt as if he was about to lose his mind.
Sadly, that thought wasn't so far away from the truth.
"You're fine..."

Of course, deep down, he knew that was just a load of bullshit.
There was a part of him that knew perfectly well that she wasn't fine.
Far from it, even.
But the moment the train of thoughts took the turn he so desperately tried to avoid, he again violently shook his head to stop it.
He couldn't face this.
This ugly and very disturbing reality.
It was like he said — everything was better than letting in the pain.
Even childish denial.

"You're okay. When you wake up, I'll take you home and tonight, we'll be sitting together around the table for dinner, just like every night…"
His voice broke and he adjusted his arms around her, pulling her even closer to him while he gazed up to the bright sky.
"And you'll roll your eyes or shake your head when you see us eat, heck, maybe you'll even tell us that we eat like hippos, whatever that might mean, just like you always do…"
Tears blurred his vision and he let out a humorless laugh, for a moment sucked back in better times before he looked down again, straight into her empty eyes.
"And then we'll watch a movie, one we pick and one you don't like but you'll watch it anyway, because that's who you are… Kind. Always willing to make concessions…"

Breathing became increasingly difficult by seeing those terrifying eyes looking back at him, empty yet full with accusations, and he buried his face in her neck in an attempt to escape from them.
Which was useless, of course, for the sight was now etched in his brain.
An image he would carry with him for the rest of his life.
"Maybe you'll even make popcorn, if only to stop me from whining about it. Or maybe just because Modo always asks you so nicely…"
He suddenly couldn't speak further.
Because the pain, the very one he tried so hard to keep out, trickled in anyway.
Painfully slow, it used every small opening it could find.
"Oh, God, Charley… no…"

The pain spread through his body like a sickness, turning everything it encountered into decaying tissue and he squeezed his eyes shut tight, hardly able to endure this horrific feeling.
Her skin, the one that used to be soft and warm, was now as cold and hard as stone.
Her scent, the one that used to daze him, made his skin crawl, for it was so different.
Everything she once was — gone.
Gradually, his walls broke down, brick by brick.
No matter how hard he tried to fight it, the pain was stronger.
Way stronger.

It forced itself inside with brute strength and within seconds, his walls, the ones he always hid behind, crumbled into dust, thereby freeing certain emotions that were supposed to stay hidden for the rest of his life.
But he wasn't in control.
Not anymore.
And there it was.
Panic.
Nasty and imperfect panic in full splendor.
This wasn't real.
This wasn't happening.
He did not fail her like that just now.

It started slow, with only one shiver that ran down his spine, but soon thereafter, his entire body was shaking uncontrollably.
How could this be?
That you're not here with me…
He had never, ever felt this alone.
This helpless.
Once it had found its opening, the pain took down all his defenses with the speed of light and all that remained now was an exposed nerve, hypersensitive and vulnerable.
It made him even more panicked, more frightened.
More helpless.
"T-Throttle…", he panted, his lips brushing the cold skin in her neck.

Silence.
He could barely breathe.
It was as if there was no oxygen in stillness.
His fingers took Charley's shirt in a tight grip as he still fought with everything he had in him, instinctively knowing that he couldn't let this poignant and distressing anguish completely take over.
Instinct was all he had left right now, and he knew his instinct was always right.
If only he didn't feel so alone…
So lost, so helpless.
"Throttle…"

Silence.
That goddamn silence.
One that spoke volumes.
Like a voice whispering in a dark fog.
She was dead.
And she was never coming back.
No.
"Throttle!", he screamed with a breaking voice, rocking back and forth as his tail lashed through the air.

"Vinnie… Jesus, Vinnie…"
Throttle's voice, like an angel falling from the sky.
Vinnie's eyes flew open and he looked up with a jerk, straight into the deeply shocked face of his tan-furred friend who now crouched down across him.
He was here.
Throttle was here.
His presence was like a warm blanket.
His calmness like the soothing silence that descended on a battlefield when the fight was over.

"Throttle", Vinnie wheezed, hardly able to speak due to the pain in his throat that was caused by holding back his emotions, but he tried anyway.
He had to.
For Charley.
For himself.
For all of them.
"Throttle, please… You always make things right… Please, make this right again…"

He hardly recognized his own voice.
It sounded like someone else's.
Soaked with despair.
Weak.
It sounded weak.
Childish, even.
But he couldn't deny that right now, he felt like a child again.
And Throttle was the adult who could make everything alright again.
Just like he always did.

Still quivering like he had a severe fever, Vinnie stared at Throttle almost hopefully, or perhaps just pleadingly as a single tear rolled down his cheek.
But instead of telling him that everything was going to be okay, all Throttle did was swallow with difficulty as he looked at the lifeless form that was Charley in Vinnie's arms.
But it was his body language that worried Vinnie to the core.
It didn't give away hope and consolation, no, it literally screamed defeat and grief.
To top it all off, there was his voice.
His voice, that gave away a hint of despair.
Or maybe even fear.
"Vinnie…"

"No", Vinnie breathed, already shaking his head again.
It seemed to be the only thing he could do right now.
But he just didn't want to hear it.
Not from Throttle.
It would mean too much.
It would make it too real.
"No, no, no, you can fix this, man. You have to fix this… you always do…"
"Vinnie, I…"
If only he wasn't speaking so… carefully.
It only made him even more anxious.
"No! Just tell me that everything is gonna be okay!"

When Throttle just stared at him, his eyes probably wide open behind his glasses, Vinnie took his arm in an iron grip, tears streaming down his face while his other hand still held Charley tightly.
"Tell me that everything is gonna be okay! TELL ME!"
Save me from the nothing I've become…
When Throttle still remained silent, Vinnie's eyes darted back to Charley, his heart almost giving out as the emotions inside of him expanded, filling every nook and cranny in his body.
"She'll be fine. Everything will be fine…"

She looked so different.
She hardly looked the same, actually.
It was strange, what death did to a person.
It turned them into someone else.
Something else.
It was disgraceful, honestly.
Oh, man, Charley…
Vinnie let out a heartbreaking moan, one that represented his immense suffering.
"Please, Throttle… Bring her back to me…"
A warm hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Vinnie, but she… she's gone…"

Nausea washed over Vinnie, twisting and turning his insides.
The strange yet revolting feeling made him gasp for air, but for some reason, his lungs refused to fill themselves, due to the invisible yet vicious strap around his muscular chest.
It just didn't want to go away.
The daylight suddenly hurt his eyes, in fact, it almost burned them out of their sockets.
A tear fell down and landed on her face, somewhere near her eye.
"But… But I love her…"., he whispered, entirely heartbroken as he watched helplessly at how the small drop rolled down her cheek.
It felt as if she was crying with him.
The hand now squeezed his shoulder.
"I know, little bro, I know. I'm so sorry…"

"Don't say that… Please, just…"
But every hero had his breaking point.
Even heroes could only try to fight something stronger than them for so long.
They all would break, eventually.
No exception.
The soothing sound of Throttle's voice.
The warm hand on his shoulder.
It was his older and respective brother who kindly forced him to face reality that turned out to be the final straw.
And Vinnie broke.
Fiercely and painfully.
Like only heroes could break.

As the gut-wrenching pain crushed him, mercilessly and relentlessly, he leaned forward and buried his face in Charley's neck again.
It was the only place where he wanted to be right now.
Where he felt somewhat safe.
Where he felt less alone, if only a bit.
His body painfully convulsed against hers when he now fully realized that he had lost her forever.
Even worse, he had failed her.
He had failed her in the most unthinkable way.
But the thought that pained him the most was that she died without knowing how much she meant to him.
If only he had told her.
But now, it was too late.

Another moan escaped his trembling lips, and he desperately clung onto her, utterly inconsolable.
And just like that, the great Vinnie Van Wham, hero of all time, gave up.
He simply gave up.
It was something he promised himself to never do, but there was no other option.
Not anymore.
There was nothing left to live for.
Nothing left to fight for.
He came, he saw, he lost.
And with that, the last domino landed on the ground with an ominous thump.

-The End-

I'm sorry, guys.
I hope that didn't make you too depressed.

So, I just wanted to say that it was Wolftattoo who planted this idea in my head in a review on Somewhere I Belong (thank you!).
Or well, it made me realize that I never wrote about Charley dying, except for that one time in my very first fan fiction Waiting For The End.
And for some reason, I just love to write death scenes.

Oh, and the whole rope thingy, with Charley hitting the back of her head and all, was inspired by the death scene of Gwen Stacy in the Amazing Spider-Man 2.
If you haven't seen it yet, go watch it on Youtube.
It's such an amazing scene (and very difficult to write down in a language that isn't your own, that's for sure, hehe).
I hope it made sense, if not, go watch that scene right away. ;)

Oh my Gawd, I'm talking way too much.
I hope you guys liked it, despite that it was a bit sad.
Feel free to leave a review/fav/follow, always very much appreciated and it truly keeps me motivated.
Stay safe out there and till next time, my dear readers!

Later!